How to respond to tailgating crackdown.

[hawkeyemark]

I think Okeefe subsribes to Ayn Rand's view of objectivism.

Look, I've been spending my Saturdays in Iowa City for 10 years now. I did not have any encounters with the police last Saturday. Neither did anyone with my group. However, it felt the entire day like we were being watched by big brother. Cops were looking in people's car windows and coolers. There didn't seem to be any reasonable suspicion....just random searches. I don't think that's the intent of the new rules.

Mark my words....if this is how tailgating is going to be regulated in Iowa City, there will be a backlash that will negatively impact Iowa City, the U of I, and the Hawkeye Football program.

I've read too many stories where people had similar experiences/observations as I had on Saturday. There is a big difference between punishing people who are breaking the law and seeking out people to punish. Trust me...the enforcement personnel last Saturday were seeking out tickets to write and people to punish.

I totally agree with the observations here. I've written I don't know how many posts over the weekend on this topic because the potential negative impact of this really concerns me. I just don't see a net positive resulting from this approach and on top of that we had a fatality Saturday from a driver determined to be drinking at the game that setting up check points instead of the needless harassment of people tailgating might have prevented.

Make your feelings known to Gary Barta and Sally Mason. Barta will reply to your e-mail and appears receptive to fan feedback. He acknowledges that they have bumps to work out and we'll see where things go from here. I think that Barta and maybe Sally Mason as well needs to address this issue publicly this week and I expect we'll see that.

 

[NewMexHawk]

You don't like what the U is doing. There are answers as I said before. If you park on University lots...don't next year. Don't donate next year. Don't buy tickets next year...stay home and watch the game. All of you and those who are upset...don't spend money at the game, don't tailgate, don't donate, don't buy tickets. Send Sally an email and tell her exactly whey you won't be renewing your tickets, why you won't be parking on University property, and so on. She may or may not care. While the Hawks are doing great, she will probably just delete your email.

But one day, the schedule is not going to be as good and/or the Hawks are going to have some off years and the games will not all be sold out. The University will want people parking on their lots. When the pocketbook starts to hurt then perhaps Sally and others will listen to why people are not coming to games or parking on University parking lots.

It is always YOUR choice as fans...the fans have ALL the money and really carry all the weight. Without the fans and donors, Sally might not have a job...

If you think about it...the first thing Sally should do is outlaw booze in the stadium for the penthouse folks. That is after all, University property is it not? How can she and the University justify letting drinking go on when they are enforcing it elsewhere? That point should be brought up strong and clear to Sally and others...

 

[wdmhawk]

Yup, no booze or amplified music in the box seats. Only fair.

 

[ErbHawk]

Please Please explain to us in all of your governmental wisdom, the solution to the problem. The most obvious response I expect from all of you is to petition or boycotting (refusing to donate) ect. Ha...never never would work in this circumstance. The fact that you are so ridiculously missing is that the police are enforcing laws that have existed for quite some time...they are simply stepping up enforcement. So what are you gonna do, petition to get laws overturned. And secondly, go ahead and boycott cause someone who is ok with the rules will quickly swoop in to take your place in kinnick. The University is attempting to clean up the image of Iowa being one of the better party schools in the country, which believe it or not is a negative reflection on our beloved U of I. I get the fact that you wanna have fun and celebrate and drink and carry on, but there are places to do that without fear of incarceration. I don't understand why creation of a more wholesome atmosphere at kinnick is such a negative on your lives.

 

[INTIMIDATORHawk]

ErbHawk, I can tell from your response that you WERE NOT in Iowa City last Saturday. Let me break this down for you:

Imagine you pull out of your driveway. Once on the road, you realize that you have a cop following you. Every turn, every stop. He's right behind you. In fact, it appears that 1 in 10 cars on the road are being followed by police cars. They are following you because they are waiting to nail you if you break the law. All the sudden, you head down a hill and the gravity causes your car to go over the 35mph speed limit. You're going 36 mph. Boom...red lights in your mirror. He pulls you over and writes you a ticket. No verbal warning, no written warning. He just pulls out his pad and writes up the ticket because you "broke the law".

That's what it was like in Iowa City. One foot on the sidewalk with a beer in your hand....ticket. Step into the street by the curb to wave down a car with a beer or drink in your hand...ticket. Walk around on public property with an EMPTY beer can....ticket.

The police were actively SEARCHING for tickets to write. Looking in car windows, coolers and questioning tailgaters about their activities, telling people to turn down their not-so-loud music, questioning a group of older people about whether or not they have marijuana in their RV! That's just plain ridiculous.

 

[DwayneTwill]

ErbHawk, I can tell from your response that you WERE NOT in Iowa City last Saturday. Let me break this down for you:

Imagine you pull out of your driveway. Once on the road, you realize that you have a cop following you. Every turn, every stop. He's right behind you. In fact, it appears that 1 in 10 cars on the road are being followed by police cars. They are following you because they are waiting to nail you if you break the law. All the sudden, you head down a hill and the gravity causes your car to go over the 35mph speed limit. You're going 36 mph. Boom...red lights in your mirror. He pulls you over and writes you a ticket. No verbal warning, no written warning. He just pulls out his pad and writes up the ticket because you "broke the law".

That's what it was like in Iowa City. One foot on the sidewalk with a beer in your hand....ticket. Step into the street by the curb to wave down a car with a beer or drink in your hand...ticket. Walk around on public property with an EMPTY beer can....ticket.

The police were actively SEARCHING for tickets to write. Looking in car windows, coolers and questioning tailgaters about their activities, telling people to turn down their not-so-loud music, questioning a group of older people about whether or not they have marijuana in their RV! That's just plain ridiculous.

You're exaggerating a bit. There were 150 tickets given out on Saturday. That's a very small percentage of the over 70,000 who had game tickets, plus however many others who tailgated and didn't go yo the game.

 

[SDK46]

You're exaggerating a bit. There were 150 tickets given out on Saturday. That's a very small percentage of the over 70,000 who had game tickets, plus however many others who tailgated and didn't go yo the game.

Not all 70000 were of drinking age.

Throw out the under-21 crowd and non-drinkers, your denominator is much more manageable.

 

[hawkphan00]

Dwayne, whats your badge number?

 

[LutherHawk]

Look tavern Hawk, you are brainwashed because you think that just because something is illegal it is wrong. That is a decidedly big government, authoritative stance. I'm someone who believes in things like freedom and economic self-determination, the principles upon which our nation was founded. Jackbooted knuckledraggers are people who come up with laws that don't address a wrong. I have no problem regulating behavior that causes injury to a person or property rights. I have asked multiple times in threads like this what "wrong" is being addressed by open container laws. No one ever answers. No one. Because there is no wrong, it's just that a group of crotchety old jackbooted legislators at one point decided they didn't like it so they banned it and now it is nothing but a giant revenue source for Iowa City. The only answer I ever get is "it is that way because we love big government and are too intellectually bankrupt to think about whether there should really be a law of that nature." Tavernhawk sheeple like you have no critical thinking skills.

You Sir, clearly have an agenda.
Accusing others of being intellectually void or lacking critical thinking skills after demonstrating rigid clinging to your own opinions or views of the world and disregarding all else, is the epitome of hypocrisy.
You see, you need to actually attempt to see things from multiple perspectives in order to claim to have critical thinking. 'Critical' thinking implies being 'critical' of all perspectives, including your own. I implore you to try and think of logical reasons why, as a society in general, we don't want people walking around with alcoholic beverages. I can think of many reasons, but I will allow you to come up with a few on your own...if you have the intellectual capacity to do so.

 

[LutherHawk]

ErbHawk, I can tell from your response that you WERE NOT in Iowa City last Saturday. Let me break this down for you:

Imagine you pull out of your driveway. Once on the road, you realize that you have a cop following you. Every turn, every stop. He's right behind you. In fact, it appears that 1 in 10 cars on the road are being followed by police cars. They are following you because they are waiting to nail you if you break the law. All the sudden, you head down a hill and the gravity causes your car to go over the 35mph speed limit. You're going 36 mph. Boom...red lights in your mirror. He pulls you over and writes you a ticket. No verbal warning, no written warning. He just pulls out his pad and writes up the ticket because you "broke the law".

That's what it was like in Iowa City. One foot on the sidewalk with a beer in your hand....ticket. Step into the street by the curb to wave down a car with a beer or drink in your hand...ticket. Walk around on public property with an EMPTY beer can....ticket.

The police were actively SEARCHING for tickets to write. Looking in car windows, coolers and questioning tailgaters about their activities, telling people to turn down their not-so-loud music, questioning a group of older people about whether or not they have marijuana in their RV! That's just plain ridiculous.

If it was truly like this, I can understand the backlash here and on other boards. Thank you for painting a picture of the scene.
The best outcome from all of this would be to have both sides adjust their behaviors and come to some sort of established understanding of what is allowed and what is 'out of bounds'. Nobody likes overzealous people in authority and it only undermines the relative good intentions of everyone involved.

 

[sandhawk20]

Bahahahaha! Only one side of the discussion will be allowed around here!

So your posting of a baby's face is your side of the discussion??? Good one.

 

[okeefe4prez]

Show me any post I've made since Saturday that said anything about "if something is illegal it must be wrong". You can't. And that isn't the point.

Right here Tavern:

It is not the same as walking down Melrose with an open beer....you KNOW it is wrong and choose to ignore the law.

What is the harm the statists are attempting to prevent? What is "wrong" with walking 100 yards down the street with an open beer? How is it legally distinguishable from carrying an unopened beer?

There are laws against every harm the person carrying an open beer in the street you can come up with. If a person throws an empty can down, charge him with littering. If a person urinates in public, arrest him for public urination. If a person is falling over drunk, charge him with public intox. What is "wrong" with carrying a beer 100 yards down Melrose? I seriously can't think of anything that isn't already remediated by other laws on the books and I want you big government lovers to explain to me what harm the cops are preventing other than perhaps economically justifying their presence by writing ridiculous tickets.

 

[hawkcub42]

Over the last 4 days I am beginning to wonder if some of you have ever attended a major sporting event outside of a football game at Kinnick. In major events it should be about managing the great crowd and bust people that are gross examples of misbehavior. That is how it is at most stadiums and arenas. Along with what the university said was there plan (ie the knuckleheads)

Yes people in the past were breaking rules but in a situation like what happens at Kinnick you don't bust down the group in their 60's who are making Bloody Mary's. Maybe tell them put that away if you see it. Or when you see people sipping a beer with their foot on the sidewalk that are still sober, what are they really harming?

What made Saturday so bad was the police were not managing but more actively being confrontational and looking to bust people. As another poster put it we were being excessively watched. Even if your doing nothing wrong you don't like that.

 

[83Hawk]

Right here Tavern:



What is the harm the statists are attempting to prevent? What is "wrong" with walking 100 yards down the street with an open beer? How is it legally distinguishable from carrying an unopened beer?

There are laws against every harm the person carrying an open beer in the street you can come up with. If a person throws an empty can down, charge him with littering. If a person urinates in public, arrest him for public urination. If a person is falling over drunk, charge him with public intox. What is "wrong" with carrying a beer 100 yards down Melrose? I seriously can't think of anything that isn't already remediated by other laws on the books and I want you big government lovers to explain to me what harm the cops are preventing other than perhaps economically justifying their presence by writing ridiculous tickets.

You know what I meant, Jethro. By "wrong" I meant it is "wrong" to do something against the law.

Nice try.

Again...if you don't like the law, get off your fat behind and do something to change it. Crying like a 2 year old on an internet message board isn't going to get it done. You can pontificate all you want...but it doesn't amount to squat.

But then....you are an internet tough guy who is all talk...no action.

I know you are just trolling to get a rise out of people. That's what internet tough guys do. Well, I'm not going to play your game any more. Isn't there an "ignore" button somewhere?

Bye bye troll.

 

[homes]

Apparently ND with through the same **** in 2008
The Proper Response to Overzealous Tailgating Police | Bleacher Report

Here is a snippet:
I have never been ticketed, cited, or arrested by the police (other than a speeding ticket when I was 17 years old). I am not some angry fan who was ejected from the stadium. I am a concerned alumnus who has seen others, just like me, penalized without any just cause. I have no doubt some people at college parties, at tailgates, and in the stadium behave poorly. But the vast majority does not, and I now believe the majority of incidents are not caused by students or fans, but rather by those in authority causing the situation and causing aggressive confrontation.

Sound familiar to those who attend the Myrtle Lot?

I'm sure anyone can find examples of extremes to support their point of view - the guy innocently walking down the street with an open beer, minding his own business, getting a ticket vs. the drunk, belligerent ******* who goes unscathed in years past, thereby justifying the need for the crackdown in some persons' eyes. The problem is more what they failed to do in the past as opposed to what they're doing now. If they had judiciously enforced their ordinances and laws in the first place and put the hammer on those who were, by anyone's standards, in the wrong, then there wouldn't be the perception there was this massive problem and hence need to up the enforcement this year. Now, it's easier to write a ticket to a guy walking around with a beer, and it makes them look like they're getting tougher. It's a weird dynamic, brought on by their own previous ineffectiveness, an overreaction to their prior shortcomings. They don't need more laws, just better, keener enforcement of the ones that already exist. Until that happens, people need to be smarter themselves.

 

[H8IAST8]

Iowa City is completely different than 90% of college stadiums due to the lack of parking. THERE SHOULD BE A DIFFERENT STANDARD!

 

[dagdaj]

I think we should form a committee to counter the Committee to Improve Hawkeye Football Game Day Culture.

The Committee to Help Eschew Wanton Displays of Amoral Behavior And Liquor Libating Before All Games
C.H.E.W.D.A.B.A.L.L.B.A.G.

 

[tubahawk]

Look tavern Hawk, you are brainwashed because you think that just because something is illegal it is wrong. That is a decidedly big government, authoritative stance. I'm someone who believes in things like freedom and economic self-determination, the principles upon which our nation was founded. Jackbooted knuckledraggers are people who come up with laws that don't address a wrong. I have no problem regulating behavior that causes injury to a person or property rights. I have asked multiple times in threads like this what "wrong" is being addressed by open container laws. No one ever answers. No one. Because there is no wrong, it's just that a group of crotchety old jackbooted legislators at one point decided they didn't like it so they banned it and now it is nothing but a giant revenue source for Iowa City. The only answer I ever get is "it is that way because we love big government and are too intellectually bankrupt to think about whether there should really be a law of that nature." Tavernhawk sheeple like you have no critical thinking skills.

Here's the best way I can think to phrase the point;

Why is it "wrong" to walk down Melrose with an open container, but its okay inside the confines of Kinnick Stadium?


If the University is serious about reversing the party image, then why doesn't it suspend alcohol sales inside Kinnick too?

 

[IH8IAST8]

Iowa City is completely different than 90% of college stadiums due to the lack of parking. THERE SHOULD BE A DIFFERENT STANDARD!

Seriously? i've been to the big house, MSU, and OSU in the last 3 years for Iowa Football games, and their parking situation is no different than ours. In fact, UM & OSU have free bus shuttles to get people even close to walking distance.

 

[okeefe4prez]

By "wrong" I meant it is "wrong" to do something against the law.

Isn't there an "ignore" button somewhere?

Well, there it is. Assuming this guy isn't a TavernHawk, which I find hard to believe, perhaps the Cyclone fans are right in calling the U of Iowa Eastern Iowa Community College. This guy's clearly never heard of Rosa Parks or taken an ethics class.

Mods - can we get some kind of rep style feature that shows who all has us on ignore?